We are planning to stay in Rockville given hotel room availability(ie many hotels are booked; available hotels are very expensive)and proximty to interstate. Just want to make sure its a decent area - we know its a long drive/train ride into DC.

Traffic is terrible going into central DC. Take the metro instead. It's about 30 minutes. There's also a MARC commuter train to Union Station, but it still takes 25 minutes. No real reason to use that.

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Let me know where you are planning to stay and I can give you some feedback. Agree with the previous poster. Depending on the volume of traffic you normally deal with, my guess is that you DO NOT want to drive in this traffic and you DO want to be at a hotel near Metro.

Very few Rockville hotels are close to Metro. The Doubletree is probably the closest to a station (Twinbrook).

As PollyVW mentioned, list a few of your choices. The area's generally all fine, but the convenience factor varies greatly.

Thx for the replies. We are staying at the Quality Inn as it seems quite nice. They have shuttle to Metro. Staying there for couple of days before moving to hotel in DC. Any Rockville area dining suggestions would be appreciated although we know there is limited choices. Thx again.

What kind of restaurants are you looking for? Rockville actually has quite a few good ones. I'd check out www.washingtonian.com - you can search by town and type of food.

Some suggestions: Taste of Saigon, Il Pizzico, and Addie's (expensive).

Karen

As kaudrey says, the dining choices aren't that bad. The area is basically office parks just off the a major freeway (270), but you are relatively close to downtown Rockville.

Kaudrey's suggestions are all good, I'd add the Mykonos Grill, which is my only good reason to get on the Rockville Pike. The outside appearance (office building) is misleading. Inside is a very nice room and the Greek food that brought me back to the month I spent abroad last summer.

There's also Bombay Bistro, although it's been a few years since I've eaten there.

Also, there's the Tower Oaks Lodge for solid, quality American food not far away and just up the road at the Rio Center are quick chain options: Macaroni Grill/Joe's Crab Shack/Corner Bakery.

benjarong on rockville pike in wintergreen plaza has absolutely delicious thai food. i always make sure to go there when i visit my folks since i live in nowhere-ville, md which has no ethnic restaurants.

If the quality in in rockville is the one on research court.....it is really clser to being gaithersburg.

The hotel probably runs shuttles to the shady grove metro stop.

Another vote for Il Pizzico.

Hi! I stayed at the Sleep Inn that shares the parking lot with the Quality Inn. Are you flying in or driving? I can't remember if you said in your post.
If you are driving, skip the free shuttle and drive to the metro station. I say this because the way the shuttle works is you go down to the desk and tell them you need the shuttle. You may have to wait QUITE a while- depending where the driver is and if the van is already full. Also, when you get back from your excursion you have to call when you get back to the Metro stop and have them come pick you up. This after a 40 minute Metro ride (depending where you came in from). Don't get me wrong- the room was great and so is the staff. I hadto go into your hotel to get change from the desk and it looked really nice inside! I just wanted to warn you about the shuttle bus and the wait. We had no complaints about our hotel and would definitely stay there again because it was in a nice, quiet, business area.

PS Krispy Kreme, Starbucks, and Panera Bread are just down the block! Also, there is an entertainment complex nearby (can't remember the name) with a nice movie theater and a restaraunt called Hamburger Hamlet (don't let the name fool you! They have good food!)

Whatever you do- stay off the freeway...it was always a parking lot from what we could see from our room.

Thx everyone for your input, most of which we read when we were just arriving in DC. We just returned from an enjoyable trip to DC - see separate trip report. We were quite happy with Quality Inn - even stayed there the last night on the way home, 3 nights at Quality Inn and 2 nights at Topaz at Dupont Circle. As previous poster noted, the Quality Inn and Sleep Inn are next door, share the complimentary shuttle and seem to be owned/managed by the same company. The complimentary shuttle was as described by the last poster - we did wait for the next trip both from the hotel and the Shady grove metro station but it wan't too long. The inconvenience was at the Metro station where there was a 10-15 minute wait to buy the day pass (only 2 out of approx 10 machines sell the passes) followed by a 12 minute wait for next train as we just missed one. The caution with parking is you need a $5 metrocard plus the $5 parking fee - not so great for one time visitors. The trip was approx 30 minutes to Smithsonian during non-rush hour.
The hotel was fine - large one bedroom suites; a bit frayed at the edges; decent hot breakfast buffet and manager's reception; great rate and value for family of four.
We only dined out once in the Rockville area and had a wonderful dinner at Il Pizzico, as recommended by posters. Wonderful pasta in a non-descript small strip plaza. Tablecloth service. Fyi, entrees are pasta and meat dishes - no pizza (not sure what pizzico translates to). I think Zagat rated food in low 20's. Worth going to if you are in vicinity.

Yikes! Four of our old standbys recommended in the same thread! This is spooky....
Taste of Saigon, Il Pizzico, and Addie's and Bombay Bistro

We also like Tara Thai on the Pike. But please, don't send anyone else Il Pizzico, it's too hard to get in as it is
(But ALWAYS worth the wait.)

<(not sure what pizzico translates to>

According to the owner, Enzo...it translates to " the pinch" as in a pinch of seasoning.

He also owns an upscale Italian restaurant in DC... Spezzie

A real family owned place that consiently gets great reviews.